Tag / roy blunt

If your favorite player hits a home run or scores a goal, but your favorite team loses, what have you accomplished?

If an athlete you despise makes a horrible error but the hated team he plays for wins the championship, how do you feel?

In several races across Missouri, some people seem willing to lose the war if it means they can win their private battles. That’s pretty sad, isn’t it?

In the race for governor and the race for US Senate, I hear people working against their own interests for extremely selfish reasons. But the only way to show you’re a consistent person is to elect Trump, Blunt, and Greitens on Tuesday.

US Senate

Suppose Donald Trump wins but Roy Blunt loses. And a few other Republican Senate candidates lose. It’s possible that President Trump could face a Senate controlled by Democrats. In that case, you won’t get a single piece of legislation you want. You’ll get only what Mitch McConnell compromises with Chuck Schumer. Have fun with that.

Plus, Jason Kander is a far left progressive. He’s opposed to the 2nd Amendment because he will get to keep his assault rifles and side arms. That’s how elitism works, and Kander’s all for different rules for different castes. And Kander loves the lobbyists as much as the lobbyists love Kander. It’s a regular affair with those two.

If Hillary wins, don’t you want every possible Republican Senator to form a firewall?

If you want Trump and Trump’s policies, you have to give Trump a Senate that will enact those policies. Kander won’t do that. Roy Blunt will. So vote for Blunt on Tuesday.

Missouri Governor

Suppose Chris Koster wins. You won’t ever see Right to Work in Missouri. All the good bills that Nixon vetoed, Koster will veto. All the favoritism Nixon showed, Koster will show. Missouri’s embarrassing fall to the bottom of the economic barrel will continue. That fall might even accelerate. Who knows.

In Chris Koster’s Missouri, failing schools and falling bridges will remain the norm. Fortune 1000 companies will continue to flee our state. And rioters will be allowed to control your streets. If Chris Koster was afraid to do something about Ferguson as the state’s chief law enforcement officer, imagine how cowardly he’d act as governor.

Or you can show consistency by voting for Eric Greitens. Greitens started off as a Democrat, but he realized his philosophy was out of sync with that party’s beliefs. So he embraced the GOP and some of the most conservative GOP leaders embrace Greitens.

As governor, Eric Greitens will sign Right to Work. He will lead his party to make Missouri great again by getting us out of the bottom quintile of economic despair. Greitens will confront riots with all the determination and courage you’d expect from a Navy SEAL war veteran. And he’ll elevate our political discourse like no one else.

Consistency

Most people want to be seen as consistent. We want people to think we’ll do the right thing even if it hurts. Maybe it hurts you to vote for Blunt or Greitens, but deep down you probably know voting for Blunt and Greitens is the right thing.

Trump will win Missouri by 15 percentage points if you vote. If Missouri voters do the right thing, Blunt and Greitens will win by 15 points, too. If they don’t, it’s because many Missouri conservatives would rather lose the war for America than lose a skirmish for their pride. And that would be so sad.

The Supreme Court and Survival of the Constitution

Antonin Scalia is dead. At best, the Supreme Court is split 4-4. The person who replaces Scalia will tip the balance one way or the other.

If the balance tips toward the left, our future will become very dim. A 5-4 leftist majority will literally rule the Constitution out of existence. That court would find new “rights” that enslave people. (The right to healthcare means people can be impressed into service as a doctor or nurse. A right to education means people can be forced against their will to teach.)

That leftist majority would discover amazing new limits on freedom of speech and assembly. It will find tight restrictions on Christianity and Judaism.

That leftist majority would find a new meaning for the 2nd Amendment. This new meaning will give governments the power to enter your home and seize your weapons. Because that’s the power government wants.

For some time, I have been seeking greater specificity on this issue, and today the Trump campaign provided that, releasing a very strong list of potential Supreme Court nominees — including Sen. Mike Lee, who would make an extraordinary justice — and making an explicit commitment to nominate only from that list. This commitment matters, and it provides a serious reason for voters to choose to support Trump.

Two things must happen for Justice Lee to become a reality:

Trump must win.

Republicans must retain the Senate.

I Endorse Roy Blunt

So I am voting for Senator Blunt, and I pray you do, too. I’m voting for Blunt for the same reasons Ted Cruz is voting for Donald Trump. If Trump wins, he can’t do any good, including choosing a Supreme Court nominee, without a strong Senate majority. If Trump doesn’t win, we’ll need the strongest possible Republican Senate. Either way, it has to be Blunt.

I am not going to argue with anyone about Blunt’s strengths and weaknesses. Blunt’s Heritage Action score might dip into the 50s, but his opponent’s score would never rise above zero. I’m looking at the lay of the land and, as General Patton, adapting principles to circumstances.

If you’re thinking it had to do with policy or personality, you’re thinking wrong. (And, no, it wasn’t because of Koster’s hair, Mark Reardon.) This was all about the establishment vs. the people. It’s about power and control. Greitens threatens the establishment.

Since “the establishment” is vague, I’ll give it a name. In fact, I’ll give it two names. In Missouri, the establishment is Ann Wagner and Roy Blunt. (But mostly Wagner.) And Rex Sinquefield is their financier.

To understand this, let’s look at how Wagner played the Republican gubernatorial race. Remember, Ann is running for Claire McCaskill’s senate seat in 2018.

Think about this:

If you’re Ann Wagner and you want a senate seat, wouldn’t you push your friend Catherine Hanaway to run for governor? Win or lose, Catherine’s 2016 run for governor would take her out of the race for U.S. Senate in 2018, would it not? That takes away Wagner’s most formidable rival for money and votes.

When Tom Schweich died, why wouldn’t Ann encourage John Brunner to run for governor? John hinted to me that Ann encouraged him to run when we met for coffee in April 2015. (I didn’t secretly tape that conversation, but maybe he did. Ask him.) His wife told people, too, at a Lincoln-Reagan dinner in 2015. People recall that she seemed upset about it at the time. I’m sure Ann had heard that Brunner was thinking about running for Claire’s seat. Plus, John could finance his own campaign for governor. The establishment wanted Brunner to spend his own money to kneecap Eric Greitens. That didn’t work, but, as you know, the establishment sabotaged Brunner in the final weeks of the primary. John has now lost two statewide races in a row, blowing upwards of $30 million of his own money in the process. No wonder Mrs. Brunner was upset.

Wagner and Blunt can’t control Greitens making him a threat to the establishment. When Greitens won (by 10 points no less), Ann and Roy went to work for Koster. Publicly, they’ll say they support their party’s nominee for governor. Don’t trust what they say. Believe what you see their friends do. In the shadows, Wagner and Blunt will undercut Greitens and support the Democrat. They’ll tell traditionally Republican organizations and businesses like the Farm Bureau to endorse Koster. That’s just the way the establishment works. As Brunner’s consultant, David Barklage, told me at lunch in 2014, “We can work with Koster.” They’re working with Koster.

Not convinced? Establishment bonds trump party loyalty. Koster used to be a Republican, so it’s not hard for Republicans like Wagner and Blunt to work with him. I have reports that some Missouri business executives are encouraging their employees who supported Greitens in the primary to support Koster because he’ll be good for their businesses. It’s a subtle threat, and it could be illegal. But it’s happening. I’m hearing stories every day. If you work for a company whose senior executives donate to Wagner and Blunt expect some gentle nudges to support Koster.

Look, Eric Greitens is a major threat to the establishment. He has no allegiance to the ownership class. He has no allegiance to the Republican hierarchy. Greitens’ allegiance is to a purpose, and his purpose aligns very well with ordinary people. Firefighters, cops, and teachers love him, so do veterans and their families. And I see huge numbers of young people working for Eric when I go his office in Crestwood. So many young people. The establishment despises these ordinary people.

The Missouri Farm Bureau endorses whoever their highest paid politicians tell them to endorse. You can surmise that the MFB endorsed a Democrat because Ann Wagner and Roy Blunt told them too. They’ll get a pat on the head and some federal money. Expect more organizations with ties to Wagner and Blunt to endorse Koster. It’s just the establishment trying to save its power and control. And it says more about Wagner and Blunt’s power and control than about Greitens’ amazing qualifications.

So don’t sweat it, Greitens fans. Just add the Missouri Farm Bureau to your list of corrupt organizations. And remember: Rex Sinquefield’s donation is pretty much the kiss of death in Missouri elections. (Rex’s $11 million went 0 for 4 Tuesday. I was 5 for 5 and cost me almost nothing.) He’s a smart guy and a DuBourg grad, but Rex Sinquefield couldn’t pick a winner in the hall of fame. We have the numbers.

Sam Adams and friends risked their lives in the commission of a felony in their outrage over government overreach.

That was the Boston Tea Party.

Look at us now! People furious with me for going after Senator Roy Blunt. I went after him because he announced he will vote for cloture knowing full well that cloture give Harry Reid his only chance to strip the House’s Obamacare defund language from the continuing resolution. Without cloture, the Democrats have to negotiate. With cloture, they can run roughshod of the Republicans.

I won’t back down because I demand more of my Republican representatives than I expect from Democrats.

Why do I expect more from Republicans?

Because I bought into the Republican notion that the party stands for courage and freedom. I still believe that within the GOP lies the American Ideal. And I’m not ready to give that up.

It is our birthright to expect a lot our elected leaders. Look what we expect from our doctors, our teachers, our inventors, scientists, engineers, artist, actors, entrepreneurs, and managers.

When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American.

It is in our history to demand exceptional courage, commitment to principle, selflessness, statesmanship, responsible risk, and bold action from the people we elect. If we expect it of our enlisted personnel and draftees, we sure as hell should demand it from exalted Senators.

Of course, I’m not stupid enough to believe we won’t make mistakes. Yes, we’ll elect people who fail to live up to our admittedly high standards.

And we put up with human flaws. We should. We just won’t tolerate self-serving surrender.

I don’t expect perfection from anyone. I firmly believe what Peter Drucker said: people of great strength are also people of great weakness.

I might be the exception. I have remarkably deep and refined weaknesses that aren’t balanced with any notable strengths. But that’s my problem. And my family’s, I guess.

When we send people to Washington, though, as our representatives in government, we have every right–and a duty–to expect that their strengths be principle, courage, and boldness at critical moments in human history.

We are standing on the doorstep of history. Without courageous action, everything will change. For the worse. The American Era teeters.

This is not the moment for slick gimmicks. This isn’t the time to vote for Obamacare before you vote against it.

This is the moment to risk your career for the country if you are are Republican Senator or Representative.

This moment.

I would hate to be a Republican Senator today. I would hate the burden of history on my shoulders. Looking across America from Washington would buckle my knees. I break a cold sweat just thinking about such responsibility.

And I can only hope and pray that I would do the right thing if I were there. Nothing in my character or experience convinces me I would.

I can tell you, though, I wouldn’t relish doing what Ted Cruz is doing right now. I wouldn’t willingly trade places with Mike Lee. Or Roy Blunt.

And if, God forbid, I woke up tomorrow a US Senator from Missouri, and if that cloture vote stared at me while Senators Cruz and Lee stood and fought, I would pray that this cup would pass me by.

Left to my own devices, I am too weak to do the right thing. I know I am.

But I would not be alone.

I would be nothing more than the embodiment of you, of your courage. Of your hopes and prayers. I would be an animated vessel of the Marines at Iwo Jima, Washington at Valley Forge, and Reagan at Reykjavik.

As unworthy and unfit for such a job as I am, I’d forget my feeble courage and let theirs flow through me. I’d know the fate of the American experiment wasn’t really on my shoulders, but on the boundless courage of those remarkable people who faced greater fears than I could imagine — and soldiered on.

In America, the highest rank of society is citizen. Senator is down below school boards, town councils, and State Reps. As long as the people are behind me, I don’t need my own courage; they’ll lend me theirs. And if God would not take that cup from me, He’d send me whatever I needed to do my job. If I would only let Him.

At least, I pray I’d do so.

For weeks, you have lent your courage to Republican Senators. Millions of petition signatures. Thousands upon thousands of phone calls and office visits, emails, letters. You gave them your strength and a simple instruction: expend every drop of your power as a citizen and a Senator to stop this monstrosity of a law.

So far, three Republican Senators — McConnell, Cornyn, and Blunt — have closed their hearts and minds to the courage and strength you sent their way. They tried to stare down history with only the meager courage of a single human being. They tried to go it alone. And they flinched.

I’m not angry at Roy Blunt for his cloture vote. I’m disappointed that he wouldn’t channel our power to save America.

I don’t want to vote for Superman. I want to vote for simple people humble enough to channel and use the power we willingly lend them to do the right thing.

More importantly, I’m a little disturbed about the expressed reason for the local happiness.

It seems some conservatives are eager for Senator Blunt to use his new power to channel more pork to the area.

I don’t really understand how that’s conservative. I thought we were trying to reduce the size and scope of government. I thought our goal was to get Washington out of the business of picking winners and losers.

When a Senator transfers money from one state to benefit another state, it’s socialism.

When a Senator writes regulations to help one business over another business, it’s corporatism, another word for fascism.

When a Senator bring home the bacon by borrowing from my future grandchildren, it’s generational theft.

Conservatives who protest wealth transfer though welfare payments to poor people can’t cheer wealth transfer to corporations. Well, they can, but there’s a word for what that would make them.

The most difficult aspect of conservatism is eschewing short-term personal gain when it conflicts with the lawful role of government and good morals. On this point, I am far from perfect. But I’m getting better at recognizing and correcting my own hypocrisy.

During the 2010 Republican primary, many on the right questioned Blunt’s fiscal conservative credentials. As a member of the House, Blunt had helped craft some and pass unpopular spending bills, including TARP. On the issue of debt and responsibility, though, he shows no sign of cracking.

Government debt is the defining issue of our time, perhaps of the American experiment. As Congressman Todd Akin warns, the consequences of kicking the can down the road could be as devastating as the Civil War.

I personally thank Senator Blunt and his fellow Republicans for treating this grave issue with the seriousness it deserves. We are quick to attack when a politician disappoints, but are we willing to applaud when t hey do right?

Please drop Senator Blunt an emailthanking him for his courage and asking to remaining vigilant in this fight for our future. He’s under attack from the communists, and he deserves our support.

I just left a voice mail for Senator Blunt. Please contact him via phone, fax, or email. And leave a comment below or on Twitter when you’re done.